The Courting of Uchiha Itachi
by Rileyyy
Summary: She asked him to marry her, he said only under one condition ::HIATUS:: (undergoing massive restructuring)
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

He felt his eyes widen a fraction at the woman's request.

"Can you repeat that?"

"I didn't realize you were hard of hearing Uchiha-san," The dark haired woman repeated with that famed cool-Hyuuga demeanor. "I asked you to marry me."

It wasn't so much the fact that she had proposed that caught him off guard, well that was part of it. It was more the fact that she _demanded_ he marry her that really threw him. He never thought that she'd be one to be so upfront. Out of all the Hyuuga's, Hinata always was the black sheep, too kind to follow the apathetic ways of the clan, too gentle to use words like knives like so many of her clansmen did so flippantly. So what could possibly make her shed her true nature and _demand_ that he agree to a life-long commitment, when she could barely request a cup of coffee at a starbucks without sounding apologetic?

"I was under the impression that the man was to propose."

"It seems that I have fallen so hard for you, I just couldn't wait." Her lavender eyes didn't miss the way the corner of his mouth lifted at that comment. "A woman from a prestigious family, just asked for your hand in marriage, why aren't you flattered?"

"I am. I just wasn't expecting any of this," he said truthfully. "Surely you understand my hesitance." He studied her as she stood there. She stood tall her shoulders squared back, she met his eyes as she spoke. Her voice was calm and low, gentle much like the Hinata he thought he knew. Her words were eloquent, well thought out and spoken with conviction he didn't know the woman possessed. After all, figureheads were meant to be looked at, not heard.

He and the Hyuuga heiress ran in the same circle. They attended the same dinner parties, the charity events, the galas and dreadful sanity-taxing conferences. She always stood there, demure and poised with a gentle smile on her face, much like a porcelain doll who just had her hair glossed, waiting patiently to be lavished with praise. Luscious hair, blemish-less skin, beautiful doe-like eyes, what wasn't there to worship? She was small, and slim with a fine figure, every bit the princess she was groomed to be.

So who was this woman standing before him, defying everything he thought her to be?

"Why?"

"Why not? You have so much to gain from this, even if it is a scripted sacrament." She took a seat across from him. "Your family is the most influential in Sound country. You made your way across many nations, but you have yet to get a foothold in Konoha despite it being your ancestral home." She took a slim finger and smoothly placed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I can provide you with that foothold.

"Why me?" He tapped his chin with his index finger as he studied the woman before him. What could she possibly gain from marrying him? Surely she had suitors that ranged from wealth just as great as her own to royalty, what could she possibly want with him?

"Because once I marry you, I can do something no one has dared to do before."

"And that is?"

"Too change Hyuuga." He scrutinized her as she spoke those words. So many times had he heard words just like hers, but never with her determination.

"What if I was planning on proposing to my girlfriend?"

"Work doesn't count as a significant other Uchiha san and I highly doubt anyone would marry the two of you." He decided right then that he liked her with a smile on her face.

It suited her so well.

"I have one condition, and then I'm yours."

"Is that so?" He didn't miss the quickly disguised look of surprise that shot across her delicate features.

"Yes."

"And your condition?" Hinata asked with noticeable uncertainty. Well deserved uncertainty. She obviously didn't expect him to agree so readily.

A beat of silence passed. "Are you going to tell me or are we going to play a guessing game?"

"That would hardly be fair don't you think Hinata chan?"

"Hinata chan?" She asked brushes of pink colored her cheeks. He let a corner of his lip lift in a triumphant smirk. There was the woman he figured out, the woman he knew. Suddenly everything seemed right with the world.

"I am your fiancé, no?"

"Well then, Itachi-_kun_. What will you have me do?"

"You my dear fiancé, are to woo me."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

She fainted.

Itachi should have been disappointed. This was the woman who walked into his office unannounced, proposed to him, made him an offer he couldn't refuse and then fainted when he named his condition. Really, he should have been extremely disappointed, but for some reason, remembering the peaceful way she lay in his back seat, he just couldn't.

"Thank you," Itachi said, giving the florist back her pen and his signed card.

"You're welcome. She's going to love them." The blonde behind the counter said. "I'm Ino."

"I'm Itachi, pleased to meet you." He replied politely shaking the woman's hand. He kept a straight face even as he noticed the tell-tale signs of recognition.

It was always the same, first the eyes would get sparkly, then the flushing cheeks and finally the high pitched squealing.

As if on cue, there was the squealing.

"Itachi? Uchiha Itachi?"

"I'm sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else. But no worries, it happens all the time." He replied calmly. It was nothing new to him. He was a genius. He had taken over his family's company at the age of sixteen and almost quadrupled their profits. Then when his brother was old enough, he passed that onto his brother and then started his own company from scratch. Now at the age of twenty five, he was one of the richest men under the age of thirty. His face was plastered onto just about every business magazine that existed, he was surprised she didn't actually recognize him.

"Did your parents name you after him?" She asked excitedly. Her knuckles were white from holding the pen so tight. The relief he felt for not being caught in his lie was quickly forgotten. Seeing the way Ino was holding that pen, suddenly he was very afraid for his Armani shirt.

After all, projectile splatter from a burst pen was no laughing matter

"They named me after my mother's first pet." He said discreetly taking a step back.

"Your mother had a pet weasel?"

"No, it was a rabbit. But she loved it very much."

"Oh, that's strange."

"Yes, a little," Itachi glanced at his watch and grimaced. He was running late for his lunch meeting with his father.

Uchiha Fugaku was not a man who liked to be kept waiting. No doubt he'd get an earful when he got to his parent's house.

"I have to go now. Thank you for your help." He gave the dreamy eyed girl a nod and quickly made his way to his car.

"You're welcome! Come again!"

* * *

When she came to she had a throbbing head ache and a bump on the back of her head the size of a light bulb to blame.

When had she hit her head?

She closed her eyes and buried her head under her pillow when she remembered that a big chunk of her day was missing.

That could only mean one thing: she had fainted.

"Satomi-san!" she called as she jumped out of bed. "Satomi-san!" Her yelling only made the pulsating of her head even worse, but there were things to find out.

"Hinata-sama?" her maid came rushing at her. "Hinata-sama! You're up, you should stay in bed. I was told you hit your head pretty hard."

She grabbed onto the middle-aged woman's shirt, her eyes pleading with her as she asked her question. "Satomi-san, how did I get back?"

"I'm sorry?"

"What time is it!" Hinata demanded. She looked around frantically for a wall clock. "Oh my god, it's eight. Do you think he'll still be there?"

"Hinata-sama, I'm sorry but you're going to have to start over."

"How did I get back? I left hours ago, remember?"

"You're fiancé brought you back. He said that you were so surprised when he popped the question, that you fainted."

"My fiancé?"

"Yes, your fiancé."

Hinata finally let the poor woman go, and slumped to the floor. "My fiancé." She buried her face in her hands and let out a relieved sigh.

She brushed the hair out of her face when something hard came into contact with her forehead.

She looked at her hand and ended up fighting for control over her face. It wouldn't do to look surprised at the beautiful diamond ring on her finger. Especially since Satomi was told she fainted because she was proposed to.

But the ring was simple, but so beautiful. A single four carat diamond was clasped in platinum claws, the light reflected on the diamond in such an enchanting way that her breath was taken away. She felt guilt rumble in her stomach, he must have spent so much on a sham of a relationship.

But that didn't matter, nothing mattered at that moment.

He accepted and now she could get started with the rest of her plan

"Hinata-sama? Maybe we should get you back to your room."

"I'm okay Satomi-san, thank you."

Satomi lingered, obviously unsettled by her mistress' behavior. Was she supposed to leave her a heap in the middle of the hallway or was she to get her back to her room?

"Hinata-sama, this is very inappropriate. Please let me take you back to your room."

"Satomi-san, I'm okay. Thank you."

"But, I must insist-"

Both women froze when the door bell rang. Neither of them were expecting any guests.

"Please return to your room while I answer the door." Satomi bowed and took a few steps back before turning to answer the door, but was stopped by the elegant hand grasping her arm.

"Please, let me Satomi-san. I feel fine."

"But-"

Hinata flashed the woman a warm smile and ran a hand through her hair to make herself look more presentable. She was positive she looked a mess the way she had been running around like a mad woman.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" She opened the door to a bouquet of beautiful lilies and irises.

"I have a delivery for Hyuuga, Hinata?"

"That's me." She said quietly. She had never gotten flowers before, not like this anyway. She took a step back to balance herself, when the impossibly large bouquet was shoved into her arms.

"Great, if you would please sign here," The panel for the delivery guy was shoved into her hands.

She did her best to look around the bouquet and scrawled her signature across the dotted line.

She started to say, "Thank you," but before she got the first syllable out a packaged was rudely pushed into her hands.

"I'm going to need you to sign for that too."

"Oh, okay. Sure." She said confused. Flowers and a present on the same day? This was too weird for words. She quickly signed and shut the door behind her, completely oblivious to the delivery man's out stretched hand waiting for his tip.

Who would send…this?

She set the bouquet down first and package, and then stepped back to stare at the two things.

The delivery man said it was for her, right?

"Why don't you read the card?" Satomi's calm voice suggested.

"Huh?"

Satomi reached over and pulled the card from the bouquet. "The card Hinata-sama."

"Oh, right."

She took the card out of her maid's hand and opened the card.

_I like steak and daisies_

_Enjoy your gift_

_-Itachi_

Itachi? Itach sent this?

"Who is it from, Hinata-sama?"

Hinata re-read the card. Steak and daisies, what was that supposed to mean? Did he want her to buy him steak and daisies? She was so grateful she'd buy him a farm if that was what he wanted.

"Hinata-sama?"

"It's from Itachi-san." She folded the card back up and reached for the package.

"Is that your fiancé?"

"Yes."

"As in, Uchiha Itachi?" She turned to look at her maid and studied her expression. The woman was clearly preparing herself for the worst. Since she was prepared for it, might as well dish it. Right?

"Yes."

"Hinata-sama!" The heiress didn't so much as flinch at the octave that shriek hit. Instead she calmly started unwrapping her gift slowly, not wanting to ruin the beautiful wrapping paper.

"Yes, Satomi-san?"

"Your father-"

"In six months father will not be in charge, I will be. Please Satomi-san, trust me."

"Hinata-sama…"

"Satomi-san, please," Hinata stopped what she was doing and looked at the woman with pleading eyes. The same eyes she used to get an extra cookie at dessert when she was younger.

Satomi let out a resigned sigh and Hinata went back to unwrapping the gift.

When she finally lifted the cover of the box she let out a gasp and suddenly the events leading to her black-out came rushing back.

_You my dear fiancée are to woo me_

"Hinata-sama?" The young woman was frozen where she was and Satomi was afraid that if she prodded her, she would just fall over.

"It's a book."

"A book?"

"A book."

"What kind of book?"

Without a word, Hinata handed the woman beside her the box and sat down on the sofa.

Satomi couldn't help the questions forming in her head, how could she not?

There in the box was a beautiful leather bound book, with the words: "Dummy's Guide to Dating" stitched across the cover in elegant embroidery.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Different

The only thought that Itachi allowed to cross his mind was that it was _different_. Anything else would have rubbed salt in his already painfully gaping wounds.

He let out a soft sigh when his hair pricked his eyes for the umpteenth time.

This wasn't going to work.

No, this wasn't going to work at all. He couldn't use bobby pins like most with bang problems did. Not only was he not living in Asia where androgeny was exalted, but he didn't appreciate his gender or sexuality being called into question. The last thing he needed was to feed his delusional yaoi admirers ammunition.

He knew he had them, he found out the hard way.

He had no desire to repeat that experience. Literature, if it could be called that, starring him and another man in anything resembling a relationship that was not platonic, should be burned immediately and its ashes splashed with gallons of holy water. He shuddered as he thought back to a time in high school when he unknowingly opened an email with very vivid descriptions as to what some guy named Kenji was doing to him in the shower. He tried to stop reading, really he did. But the writing was much like a gory car accident, one you just couldn't tear your eyes away from.

Needless to say, years of therapy and he still couldn't stop the nightmares.

Itachi sighed and once again tried to ignore how his hair pricked his eyes.

It was _really_ irritating

He was going to find a solution to this, and it was going to be one that didn't cause others to question his gender or sexuality.

"Itachi-san?"

Itachi warily turned around, absolutely terrified of what the owner of that voice would do to him next. He really did mean it when he had complimented his sister-in-law. She looked great for a pregnant person, her baby bump was barely visible and she was positively glowing.

"Yes, TenTen-san?" He did a quick sweep of the room to make sure there weren't any "weapons" around.

"I'm sorry about your hair," She said sheepishly. "I swear I didn't mean to ruin it.

She looked so upset about it that Itachi almost said something comforting.

Almost

The last time he tried to make her feel better she threw three kitchen knives and a frying pan at him. It wouldn't have been so bad if she didn't have such great aim.

But no, her aim was impeccable and he was out ten inches of hair. Now he looked like one of those Asian celebrities who looked like he spent way too much time on his hair. As if he needed more people to think he was some vain bastard.

"I think short hair suits you better and at least you won't have guys trying to pick you up at bars anymore." Tenten said hurriedly. "So really I did you a favor."

"You're right thank you," Itachi said as he got up from the couch.

It was just easier to agree with her in her current state.

Yeah

Easier and safer. He really couldn't afford to lose any more hair.

"I have to go to work." He said quickly when he saw tears starting to fill up the woman's eyes.

Tenten nodded. "Oh okay. Your hair really does look better this way Itachi san."

"Thank you Tenten-san. I'll see you at dinner." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and left as quickly as he could. He wanted to get out of the house before she somehow interpreted whatever he said as an insult.

* * *

Hinata couldn't help but feel insulted.

Did she look like she didn't know what was going on? Like she didn't know her father wasn't using her as some sort of bargaining chip or what kind of thoughts were going through the minds of the men who were leering at her?

Did it say somewhere on her person that she was dumb and oblivious? Because really, that must be the only reason her father and Kimura-san were speaking as if she weren't there to hear how much money she was worth.

She almost wished she was five years old again, almost

At least when she was five her father wasn't trying to sell her off to the highest bidder.

She hoped anyway.

"Isn't that right Hinata?" Her father said, a sharp edge to his tone hinted at what was to come if she continued to zone out.

"Of course father." She really should be paying more attention. After all, this man was a candidate to be her husband.

Even if she was "engaged" her father had no knowledge of it, and it was imperative that it remained that way. That meant acting the part.

"I look forward to seeing you again Kimura-san. I hope you have a safe trip home." She said demurely. Playing the role of the ideal high society wife was something she was good at, impossibly so. But it wasn't all she wanted to be.

She quietly stood from her seat as Kimura-san did the same to leave. She bowed her head as he and her father left the room.

_Thank god that's over_, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly dove for her bag. She prayed to God that no one had heard the vibrations of her phone. It would not do to have her father questioning her. She took a swift glance at the door to make sure that her father was still there before she answered her text message.

_I'll be there in ten_.

* * *

Itachi was _extremely_ disappointed.

It had been a little over two weeks since the proposal and he had yet to hear a word from his dear fiancée. He had been hoping that she'd take the initiative and invite him to dinner, it was her who was to do the courting after all. But all that hope was in vain because she had yet to contact him in any way to make plans.

Maybe he should have held off on the book for a little while longer. He thought as he tapped his pen against his desktop. No, if her passing out was any indication, he should have sent her _more_ than one book.

He sighed as he glanced yet again at his phone. He had texted her almost two hours ago and he had yet to get a reply. Was it just him or did it seem like he was the only one interested in this "relationship"?

He dated here and there, but those events were very very few and far in between. It was hard to juggle a multi-million dollar company, an over bearing father and a younger brother who just loved to get into trouble, and to top that off he was socially awkward, extremely socially awkward. For all his genius, he just never quite understood the concept of socializing. He always found it rather difficult to relate to his peers, forming bonds of any sort proved impossible.

He never really had the chance to "mingle" with those his own age. It was hard to be a genius and even harder to find someone who understood one. He had skipped three years in grade school and then graduated MIT at the age of sixteen. The short years he spent in higher education involved him avoiding all members of the female race and some belonging to the male race too. They wanted one of two things, his money or bragging rights. And he was nowhere near socially adept at dealing with either.

Itachi let out a slow breath, and wondered if he was making a mistake. His marriage was inevitable. If he did things this way, at least he'd get a say in it.

The whirring of his vibrating phone caught his attention.

"About time," he muttered, he impatiently blew his hair out of his eyes. His dark eyes darted across the screen of his phone and a small relieved smile unconsciously made it across his lips.

He wasn't the only one

_Make that fifteen_, he texted back.

He got up and put his jacket on in one swift movement and he was out the door.

* * *

"This doesn't count," Was the first thing he said once she got to the table.

"What doesn't count?" She looked up at him with such an endearing look of confusion that he almost didn't say what he was going to say next.

"This isn't a date," He replied. He silently pulled the chair out and gestured for her to take her seat, discreetly watching her for any sign of what she might be thinking.

"Then what is this?" His fiancée asked, "Is this a business meeting?" She looked nervous for a moment before she started rummaging through her bag. "If you don't mind waiting, I had written up some terms of my own for our arrangement, I can have my sister bring it?"

He actually paused for a moment before proceeding to take his own seat.

"What kind of terms?"

Hinata stopped for a moment before scrunched up her face in concentration. "Sexual intercourse is prohibited until the wedding."

A non-believer in premarital sex

He couldn't fight the smile that started on his lips. It was refreshing to know that innocent, women such as her still existed.

They were _such_ an endangered species.

"What about other things?" he asked nonchalantly studying his menu.

"I'm sorry?" She looked so startled, with her wide eyes. He thought that she might actually faint from the shade of red her face turned.

"I am a man Hinata-san, I have needs," he ventured a glance over his menu and struggled to keep the smile off his face. "I expect us to have a monogamous relationship. If we're going to be together and later married, I want us to mimic two people in a healthy monogamous relationship."

This was just _too_ easy

He knew that this arrangement would provide him with an abundance of entertainment, he just didn't know how much.

It was obvious she was struggling to compose herself. He didn't miss the way she clenched her fists. She was scared and indignant and he didn't blame her.

After all he was a renown gentleman, a white-hatter if you will.

She most definitely didn't expect him to be the lecher he portrayed himself. Any blue blood caught acting the way he was would have been severely reprimanded and publicly humiliated.

But he was Uchiha Itachi

and he really couldn't care less.

Then, his demure fiancée raised her gaze to meet his. There was no sign of the inner turmoil that was so visible only seconds ago. No, what studied him back was the infamous Hyuuga stare; cool, calm and collected, calculating and suspicious, exactly how his gaze was.

Sitting there before him was the same woman who had demanded his hand in marriage.

And he liked it

* * *

"If you'd like I can show you after lunch," he had the gall to say. She didn't miss the way his dark eyes scrutinized her face, and she didn't like it.

His gaze was piercing and she just knew that the intelligence behind his gaze meant that he knew exactly what he was seeing.

And she was afraid

"Is what you want to show me a game?" Hinata thanked the waitress with a polite bow of her head and slowly took a sip of her water. "What are the rules?"

She had to keep her cool. There was too much at stake for her to lose this newfound alliance.

_You're doing this for yo__ur sister, don't forget! __  
_

She paused as she thought of her sister, _Hanabi_

With renewed resolve she met her fiancé's gaze head on.

So if it was games that he wanted to play, it was games she'd play.

But it was so much more difficult to do than it was to say. Itachi was staring at her rather intently and it was unnerving. She had to think of something that would throw him off kilter. Itachi may be recognized world-wide as a genius, but she was the black sheep of the Hyuuga; notorious among elite circles to be unpredictable. She had the edge here.

WWTD

What would Temari do?

Say something raunchy and completely inappropriate, no doubt.

Hinata fought hard against the inevitable flush that started on her creamy cheeks. There was no way she could pull that off. She didn't have the assured aura her closest friend did.

No, she would have to take whatever Temari would do and give it a Hinata twist.

She looked up from her menu and almost sighed.

Itachi was still watching her.

Really, it wasn't fair for any human being to be sculpted so perfectly. His flawless face was all the more obvious the closer he leaned into her; his eyelashes were simply amazing and his complexion, porcelain. His almond eyes were slightly slanted, uniquely beautiful and frustratingly impossible to read.

All of that was enough to break down even the most juggernaut of defenses.

She didn't stand a chance.

His bangs brushed against her forehead as his upper body continued its journey across the table.

Sometime between the start of the conversation and her return from her mental break, Itachi's chair trekked the distance from across the table to less than arms length away from her own seat.

And when he spoke it was almost directly into her ear.

"The first rule," He said so softly that she had to strain to hear him. "is that you'll call me Itachi-_kun_."

She felt her infuriating blush creep up again at that intimate honorific.

He couldn't be serious. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and fought the urge to smack herself.

He was serious

"Will that be a problem, Hinata-chan?"

"No, not at all." She gave herself a mental pat on the back for her composure and put her mind to work. What would her best friend Temari say in a situation such as this?

"When we play this game," She started slowly, her mind reeling for the most provocative words to say. "will you pull my hair?"

* * *

I know it took a long time, I was just having a bit of trouble writing this up. Please be patient with me. I am not going to give up this story, it just takes me a while to get my thoughts together and i'm sorry. i really do hope you enjoyed this chapter. please tell me what you think. i love constructive criticism, i know my grammar sucks so tips on that would be great. .

thank you so much for reading!

-Riley


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you so much for all of your reviews and your interest in this story! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it. This chapter came out a bit later than I intended . I'm sorry. Its been so hectic with two jobs and interviews and everything. But I'm glad I go a chapter out this month.

I sent a reply via PM's to everyone who was logged in when they reviewed (so please check your messages). But for those who didn't sign in, I'll be responding to your reviews at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

She really really wanted to dig herself a hole and crawl into it.

What the hell was she thinking "Will you pull my hair?"

It was clear that Itachi was thinking the same thing, he had been about to take a sip of his drink when she had said those horrid horrid words. And there he was, still sitting there with the rim of the cup paused at his lips, speechless.

The awkward silence was eating at her. The only satisfaction she got, out of the embarrassing situation she managed to get herself in to, was that her non-date looked just as confused as she did.

That fact exhilarated her

"Hinata-chan," He called softly in that same amused way he always spoke her name.

She looked at him and prayed that her blush wasn't too obvious. After all she had an image to uphold

Itachi rested his chin on his palm and quickly averted his gaze when she looked at him. Then before she could ask any questions, he lifted his hand and tugged gently on a strand of hair. He quickly turned his face away, but not before she caught a glimpse of his crimson face.

He was blushing

Because of _her_

Everyone assumed that he was this arrogant man, but arrogant men don't blush.

"You have to call me Itachi-kun now," He said softly, still not meeting her gaze. That was good because then he wouldn't see the tears that welled up in her eyes. If it weren't for her, he could have ended up with someone who cared for him of her own volition, without a contract acting as motivation.

But, no; instead he had a twisted imitation of what he deserved, and he wouldn't be able to try again.

Hyuuga's and the Uchiha's were both traditional clans, they didn't believe in divorces

Hinata wondered, not for the first time, if she should have spent more time thinking it over before proposing to Uchiha Itachi.

She fought back the tears that threatened to well over at the realization that she felt no remorse. It was her fault, yes; but when it came down to it, her sister's happiness meant more to her than her own or Itachi-san's.

That didn't mean that she wouldn't try her best to make this as painless as possible for him. She was going to do her damndest to make him happy.

He deserved to be happy

"Okay, Itachi-_kun_." She nodded. She wasn't comfortable with the way the intimate honorific rolled off her tongue. It wasn't the same as before when she said it just to mock him.

_No, it was different now_, Hinata thought as Itachi's blush intensified.

She was going to make this work.

* * *

He remembered the first time he met her. _Met_, meaning conversation beyond the usual pleasantries.

_It was five years ago at Hyuuga Hanabi's, his fiancée's younger sisters, debut._

_After a long night of turning down marriage proposals, he found refuge in the shadows of the balcony that overlooked a man-made lake behind the spacious Hyuuga estate. The night air was cool and refreshing against his flushed skin, (he had had a few glasses of wine, possibly a bottle or two to take the edge off the evening) and the view was beautiful, but most importantly it was quiet. _

_Silence was golden after the night he had. He never was good with people, especially women. It seemed their emotions made them more unpredictable, while he liked unpredictable, psychotic wasn't something he fancied. _

_Turns out, most women are psychotic._

"_Uchiha-san," A soft voice called, it startled him out of his musings and he cursed himself for not hearing the tell-tale clicks of heels on the marble floor. That noise was the harbinger of migraines._

"_I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you." _

_The moonlight illuminated his unwanted guest in such a way, that he choked on his breath. She wore a strapless deep blue evening gown that fell to the floor in gentle waves, a stark contrast to her ivory complexion that the moon caused to glow. _

_She was beautiful, simply breath-taking but that was expected of women of Hyuuga, Hinata's stature, so he didn't say anything._

"_How can I help you Hyuuga-san?" He asked without thinking. It seemed he was a little more buzzed than he realized. _

_Maybe he shouldn't have snuck out the bottle of Pinot Griggio? He studied that curve of the bottle instead of looking at his companion. She would drive him to distraction and in his slightly inebriated state there was no telling what he would say without his brain-mouth buffer up and running. _

"_Would you mind sharing?" _

_Itachi shrugged and held out the bottle in his hand. He didn't want anymore of it. _

_It was the devil _

"_I actually meant would you mind sharing the view?" Her soft laughter drew his attention and he immediately regretted letting his body do whatever it wanted. The way her smile lit up her face was forever etched into his memory and now no other woman would be able to compare. _

_She doomed him _

_Itachi withdrew his proffered vice and took a swig straight from the bottle _

_He had spent the night avoiding women, because he didn't like dealing with them. He spent most of his life avoiding women, not only because he didn't like dealing with them, but because he knew from a young age that marriage wouldn't be for love, it was a business venture._

_At least for _him_ it was. _

_He was too much of an asset to not use as a bargaining chip, and it was for this reason he avoided women. _

_He didn't want to risk falling in love, only to have it ripped from him._

_He granted himself permission to have a couple of short meaningless relationships while he was in school, with women he knew had no hopes of a future. But those were merely to satisfy his curiosity of the female mind. After the second relationship, he realized that some things just weren't meant to be understood. Like how the universe and human stupidity were infinite, so were the complicated infrastructures of the female mind, even a proclaimed genius like him couldn't begin to comprehend it. _

_And here came this woman, out of no where and she just threw him off center with her pretty smile and quiet demeanor. All the years he spent painstaking evading situations like this and he was smitten in a heartbeat. _

_It wasn't fair_

_All that he worked to avoid became undone because of the freaking moonlight. _

"_You're not going back inside?" She asked tentatively. She leaned forward against the railing and turned over her shoulder to look at him as she spoke. _

_Itachi shook his head and fought hard not to think of sappy lines that had to do with the moonlight and a fair maiden's silhouette. "Taking a break." _

_Hinata nodded in understanding and continued to admire the view. _

"_It's a little warm inside," Itachi said, he wanted to hear her voice again._

"_A little," Hinata replied. "Did you drive tonight?" _

"_Yes," He got to where her train of thought was taking her. "Maybe you should finish it to take it off my hands." He once again offered up the bottle, but not before taking a long drink from it. _

"_You're in unusual form Uchiha-san." With a smile she took the bottle from him. "Why don't we get you a glass of water?" _

"_I'm not ready to return from my break yet." He looked away from her as he said this, hoping that by not looking at her, he wouldn't give away that he wasn't ready to go back because of _her_. _

"_Why don't I get one for you then," she offered without asking. Hinata flashed him a beautiful smile before she turned and left him alone._

_She didn't even give him a chance to ask her to stay _

* * *

"Another present," Satomi said as she the neatly wrapped package on her mistress' deck. "from your fiancé."

Hinata looked up from the papers on her desk, surprise on her delicate features. A week had passed since that catastrophe of a luncheon and she was much too embarrassed to speak with him just yet. "But I haven't gotten him anything," she muttered. She picked up the box with both hands and gently shook it. "You don't think he would have sent me something dangerous, do you?"

"If it was dangerous, I'm sure he could have figured out a more original, effective way of delivering it. Why don't you open it, Hinata-sama?"

Hinata flashed a sheepish smile and began to carefully open the package. The wrapping paper was beautiful and she didn't want to ruin it.

"What did he get you?"

"Another book," Hinata answered studying the black leather bound book. She traced the letters on the cover and sighed. "Satomi-san, I think he's trying to tell me something."

"And what would that be?"

"It's a copy of "How to Make the First Move."."

There was silence as Hinata scanned over the first page, for different reasons. Satomi was trying very hard not to laugh, while Hinata was afraid to say anything that may give away what she was feeling. "I'm not too sure what to do Satomi-san."

"I think its time you sent him a present yourself."

* * *

**Aya:** I'm so glad you love the story so much! Its because of readers like you that I stay up until 2 in the morning editing and rewriting chapters when I have to be up at four to get to work. =) I hope this chapter really entertained you and made your day!

2) I like the delivery boy too! That actually happened to me when I ordered Chinese food and had it delivered. I didn't even realize that I didn't tip him until it was too late. Needless to say, I never ordered from there again .

**Cerezzy: **Thank you! I'm glad you think so. Sometimes I feel like my stories are choppy and not very eloquent. But the fact that you think my stuff if beautifully written makes all the late hours I spent editing and re-editing this worth it. So thank you =)

**Rain-Dancer: **

**1) **That's one of my favorite lines too! I actually thought of it before I started this story and I just had to put it in.

2) Yeah! I've seen it. But there wasn't one to dating =T. lol.

**Liz**: haha! I'm sorry, my cliff hangers aren't actually on purpose. Its usually because my writing high comes to an end and I don't know how to continue from that point. Thank you for your review =)

**Kiwiecandy07**: I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Thanks so much for taking the time to review!

**Hinawithlove**: I'm so glad I've exceed your expectations. Too be honest I wasn't too sure how well received this story would be but the ideas were there and they made me laugh so I gave it a shot. Thank you for your review


	5. Chapter 5

AN: you may notice random periods at one point of the chapter, please disregard those. I was merely using them as space holders because for some reason whenever I try to leave a space between paragraphs on this site it just doesn't let me. =T

I know this chapter is a little later than antiipated. SORRY! I was having a little trouble with it, in fact I ended up deleting most of it and starting over. But here it is I hope every one enjoys it!

Once again, if you weren't signed in to your account when you reviewed the previous chapter, my reply to your review will be posted at the end of the chapter.

Thank You for reading! =)

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Itachi sighed in exasperation as he once again tried to fix his hair.

He was tempted to shave his head just to avoid going through this tedious ritual every morning. How his brother, who had as much patience as a five year old with diarrhea, could do this daily and still have hair left was a mystery.

He stared at his reflection twenty minutes later and decided to leave it the way it was. His alarm had gone off twice already and at this rate he was going to be late.

He let out another sigh, really. If TenTen weren't pregnant with his nephew he would have done something to retaliate.

Like cut _her_ hair or something equally traumatizing.

He glanced at his watch and muttered a mild curse. He was going to be stuck in traffic. He quickly grabbed his tie off of his neatly made bed and hung it over his shoulder; he'd tie it in the car. Then he walked briskly to the kitchen for his morning orange juice with strawberries.

"You know, you do have your own place," Itachi pointed out as started cutting up his strawberries. His brother was perched by the breakfast bar munching on a slice of crisp toast. You'd think he owned the place with how he was just sitting there helping himself to breakfast.

"I've got a pregnant hormonal wife there. I needed a break." Uchiha Sasuke replied in between munches. His dark strands of hair moved with every joyful bite, a gleeful smile on his face as he ate which quickly turned sour at what his brother said next.

"And whose fault is that?"

"Really aniki? You're going to pull that at seven thirty in the morning?"

"I'll do what I want. Your wife cut my hair." Itachi said nonchalantly as he put the strawberries into a mug and started pouring his orange juice in after it.

He ignored the sounds of his brother's chuckles as he started towards his garage door.

"You know, most people don't believe me when I say that you're a whiner." Sasuke called after him.

* * *

Hinata turned the ringer off her cell phone as soon as it stopped ringing. She let out a sigh a relief when she saw that the missed call was from her father and not Itachi. A week had passed since her last encounter with Itachi and she expected that he'd call soon, demanding another non-date.

That was the problem.

Itachi made it crystal clear that he wanted her to do the courting. That meant that it was up to her to find interesting, entertaining things that would be mutually enjoyable, but that was a hard thing to do when she didn't know a thing about him.

She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against her knuckles.

_Think Hinata, think! _

_The card!_

Hinata jumped to her dresser and pulled her jewelry box, a beautiful velvet box that played music when it was opened. It had belonged to her mother before she passed away, and now it was one of, if not the most prized among her possessions. She liked to keep keepsakes in the box and she figured that the first card that her future husband had sent to her would be as good as anything else she kept in there.

She paused as she listened to the gentle tune of the box, it was the same one that her mother used to always hum.

Hinata smiled and briefly wondered how her mother would feel about what she was doing.

Would she be upset that she so flippantly used another person as a means to an end? Hinata felt herself tear at the thought. Her mother was one person she couldn't bear to disappoint, dead or alive.

But now wasn't the time to be thinking about this. She had things to do and she could not or rather she would not let herself be distracted by her morals. She shook the thoughts away and gingerly rummaged through the things in the box until she found the card.

_I like steak and daisies_

_Enjoy your gift_

_-Itachi_

Hinata put the small card back into its designated spot and closed the lid.

Steak and daisies

She could do that.

* * *

Was he allowed to call her?

He was her fiancé so technically he could show up randomly at her place and take her out to dinner and stuff, right?

So calling her was well within the boundaries of things a fiancé could do.

Or was he required to make an appointment like his significant others had to do?

Itachi stared at his phone as he contemplated his next move.

He wanted to see her, but what was appropriate?

Was it actually okay to just wait outside of her apartment for her to come home or was that borderline stalking?

He ran a frustrated hand over his face and let out an exasperated sigh. All of a sudden, the last twenty-five years he spent avoiding women didn't seem like such a great idea. It was pathetic that even his two experimental ones were no help. Neither lasted long enough or had any emotional investment, not on his part anyway. Neither of the relationship ended on a good note either. His ex-girlfriends _hated_ him. Surely they'd give him bad advice just to sabotage him.

Not for the first time he wished he was better at being social and that he had friends he could ask for advice. Everyone he spoke to were either people that were somehow traced back to his company or family.

For all his genius he never quite grasped the concept of small talk.

Itachi sighed again, this time it was a sad sigh.

It was painfully lonely being at the top.

.

.

.

.

"So did it work?" Ino asked as she wrapped the bouquet that Itachi had picked out.

Itachi tilted his head as he thought about her question, he raised an eyebrow gesturing for her to continue.

Ino rolled her pretty blue eyes, her arms akimbo as she spoke slowly as though she were speaking to a child. "Did it get you a date?" Itachi had to admit it was a new experience; no one had ever spoken to him like that before and he decided that he didn't like it.

"Oh," He replied softly. "No, it didn't."

"And you're going to keep on sending her flowers until she does?"

"That's the idea." He ignored the obvious fact that Ino was fighting a laugh. Because really, he had no idea how he ended up in the situation that he was in. It seemed like a good idea the first time he did it and now it just kind of stuck. Of course there was also the fact that he had no freaking idea what he was doing. Maybe that was why she seemed so uninterested?

"Did she give any indication that she was interested in you?"

Did a wedding proposal count?

"Yes."

"Then you have nothing to worry about Itachi-san." Ino chirped. She inspected the arrangement one last time before handing it off to Itachi. "Maybe this time, instead of having Shikamaru deliver it, you can deliver it yourself? I'm sure she'd appreciate that."

The brunet paused and thought about it. This was the excuse he needed to go see her.

"I will Ino-san, thank you." He quickly paid for the flowers and walked briskly to his car with renewed confidence.

He was going to go see her. He was going to give her flowers in person.

However, once he got to his car he lost all direction he gained in the flower shop. The pragmatic part of his brain, the one that was about fifty times bigger than his impulsive side, kicked in.

What if the reason Hinata hadn't been in touch with him was because she was busy?

What if she hadn't contacted him because she was sick?

He was no stranger to the long hours and dedication running a company required. It was very well possible that the stress had gotten to her. He was no stranger to the experience, it was awful.

No doubt her father wouldn't be very sympathetic.

Itachi paused, what could he do?

* * *

"Hinata-sama!" Satomi called. "You have a guest!"

Hinata rubbed her eyes and put her paperwork down. "Coming!"

She checked the legal document she was working on off her to do list, and briskly made her way to the door.

"Itachi…kun," Hinata gave him a quick bow. "I didn't realize you were coming."

"I didn't either." Itachi replied sheepishly as his eyes flickered from hers to the floor. "I brought you soup."

"Soup?" Then with grace that ballerinas would envy, he walked across the foyer and settled a thermos in her hands.

"Soup."

Hinata bowed her thank you and stared at the thermos for a moment, not quite sure what to do with it.

_Why had he brought her soup?_

"Why don't I go put it in a bowl for you Hinata-sama?"

"Thank you Satomi-san."

"Would you like anything to drink Uchiha-sama?"

"I'm okay, thank you," Itachi replied politely.

Hinata watched Itachi observing and found herself wondering if it was this awkward between them before. The trip to the living room was quiet, neither were quite sure what to say.

_What do you say to a guy you've been avoiding all week? _Hinata wondered nervously as they stood silently in the middle of the living room.

Itachi turned around and gestured awkwardly to the couches. "May I have-"

"Seat! Of course, please have a seat Itachi-san,"

The man motioned for her to have a seat first in true gentleman fashion before taking his own beside her. "Kun" He said brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"I'm sorry?"

"You called me Itachi-san, I thought we agreed that you'd call me Itachi-kun," Hinata felt her heart melt a little when she saw the light blush on her fiancé's face.

"Right, I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize." He said once again brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Sorry," She said again. "Right…sorry." Hinata wanted to crawl into a hole. Why couldn't she stop apologizing?

A beat of silence passed between them before Hinata jumped up to her feet. "I'm going to go grab something. Please excuse me."

As soon as she left the room Itachi ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

_What are you doing?_ He berated himself. _You guys were fine before, what the heck happened?_

"Uh, Itachi-_kun_?"

Itachi almost jumped from his seat, "Yes?" He cursed himself for not noticing her come in. His mother would kill him for his bad manners.

"_You stand up when a woman enters the room, dear." _ He could practically feel her smack him upside the head.

"I got you a present." Hinata said, her lavender eyes peered at him under her thick lashes. Her cheeks started to flush when he made no move to take the proffered box.

Itachi watched his fiancée watch him, unsure what to do. It was his understanding that men did all of the present giving. At least that's what he learned from watching his parents interact. His father showered his mother with gifts.

Gifts and attention

"Are you going to open it?"

"Yes. Thank you." Itachi took a seat and placed the sizeable box on his lap.

Was it okay to accept it? He paused, consumed in his thoughts to realize that he was staring.

"Please open it," The brunette said softly, when he made no move to do just that.

_Was it because he didn't like it?_

_But how could he not like it? He hadn't even opened the box yet._

_Right, the present_, He carefully peeled off the wrapping paper, doing it slowly to buy himself time to think of something to say.

While he loved and cherished moments of silence, the one between him and his fiancée was suffocating and was willing to give up an extremity to get rid of it.

"Do you like it?" Hinata asked as he opened the box.

Itachi fought his smile at the sight of what lay inside the box.

An assortment of hair accessories, hair wax, gel and spray along with a home made book with "Dummies Guide to Hair Dressing" glued onto the cover with magazine cut outs and stenciled letters.

Touchė Hyuuga Hinata, touchė

* * *

**Nwonderland:** ahhh you're so awesome. lol. I was actually really surprised that no one had thought of this before. I actually searched through all of the Itachi Hinata stories I could find to see if there was one like this before I started this story. I love the idea that awkward little hinata would have to go out of her way to get the all powerful Itachi to fall for her. Granted he's already gone and done that so her job is a little easier but I think its still so much fun to write. thank you for taking the time to review. I appreciate it so much =)

.

**Wannabe Uchiha**: Is she? I had no idea. lol. Gosh, can you imagine what would happen if Hinata was as socially awkward as sai? I don't think even locking them in a room for a year would work to get them together. lol. than you for reviewing, I appreciate it so much!

.

Once again, thank you so much to all those who reviewed! I love reading them, especially after a long day, it just brings a smile to my face. I sincerely hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Thank You!


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** I know this is a few hours later than I promised .. I'm sorry. I have an exam for my summer class coming up along with a whole bunches of other "fun" stuff and to be honest I kind of nixed the original chapter 6 yesterday. I lost track of time while I was working on the new and improved chapter 6, and here it is. I made it a little longer than I normally do (though the brevity of my chapters is not intentional) to make up for it being late, and hopefully since my class will be over in a week or so, I'll be able to treat you guys to a faster update with chapter seven. I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's a little cliched but I couldn't resist.

I have yet to respond to your reviews (although I won't fool myself into thinking that you're waiting around for my responses), but I will get those done before next week. Yep yep, personalized messages and everything!

ahhhh I'm babbling. Read and Enjoy!

Thanks again

**AN: Sorry, made an error in the first go around, Sasuke should be twenty-three. NOT twenty one**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Itachi frowned as he studied his reflection in the mirror. Was this what people called a faux-hawk? He had managed to gel down his hair into something resembling a shark-fin, but some how it didn't quite look like it did in the book Hinata had made for him.

"Aniki, you're out of-" Itachi turned to glare at his nuisance. It seemed that once again, not only had Sasuke broken in during the night, but judging by the empty box of Corn Pops his brother was waving in the air, he finished off his favorite cereal too.

He really shouldn't have taught his brother how to pick locks in their younger years.

Or maybe he should have just held off on telling Sasuke his address.

"Are you trying to do your hair?" Sasuke asked, the mirth gleaming in his eyes was unmistakable.

"No," Itachi fibbed as he leaned over into the sink to wash the gel out. That was failed attempt number six. It was a good thing he woke up extra early just for this. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sasuke leaned back against the threshold of the bathroom, low chuckles filling the sizeable bathroom. "You haven't tried to do your hair since elementary school when you had a crush on Hana-san."

Itachi didn't say anything as he dried his hair. What was there to say?

He continued to fix his hair, making sure to watch his brother for the inevitable.

A heart beat later, it came.

The way his little brother's eyes widened to the size of saucers was almost comical. Itachi half expected his eyes to pop out of his head when he realized what everything meant.

"Oh my God! You have a crush on someone!" Sasuke hissed with the grace of a preteen. He pointed his accusing little finger at his older brother as his face practically split in half breaking into a smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You only worry about your hair when you like someone!" the younger Uchiha sing-songed with unmitigated glee.

"I'm worrying about my hair because your wife cut it off," Itachi pointed out, rather used to his brothers antics. Really you'd think at twenty-three he would have matured a bit, but it seemed that time couldn't cure all maladies. He felt rather than saw when his brother's beady little black eyes caught the handmade book resting at the side of the sink, the change in atmosphere was distinctive.

The suspicion was palpable, the possessive aura smothering.

Suddenly, Itachi just knew telling Sasuke about Hinata wasn't going to end well.

"What's this?" The younger man asked. The suspicion in his voice barely masked with nonchalance. He picked up the large spiral bound book by its front cover and looked at it this way and that, giving no thought to the delicate nature of the present.

Itachi fought every instinct to get the book back. When Sasuke was like this, it was best not to indulge him.

Not indulging him meant letting him throw his tantrums. Believe it or not, destroying Itachi's things of great sentimental value was his way of throwing a tantrum.

"What does it look like?" Itachi squeezed a glob of gel onto his hand and ran it through his hair. He took care to make sure that every single strand of his bangs were no where near his eyes, god forbid he get stabbed in the eye by hair covered in gel.

Getting blinded was not one of his aspirations in life.

He then took out the blow dryer and carelessly dried his strands stiff before cleaning up after himself.

"It looks handmade. Was it a gift?" Itachi almost breathed a sigh of relief when Sasuke dropped the book back onto the marble beside the sink.

"It's from my fiancée." Itachi said as he walked into his room to finish getting dressed.

There was a silent pause, much like one before a really bad storm.

"Did you just say fiancée?" Sasuke asked in a way that made Itachi wonder whether or not that was the best possible way to tell his possessive, jealous little brother that there would be someone else in his life.

A someone else who could possibly be more important than him.

Itachi nodded as he draped his tie around his neck, his body language didn't betray any of the anxiety he was feeling. "We knew that this was going to happen at some point," He said as calmly brushed past his livid younger brother.

"Who said you could get married?"

The older man paused in his stride to the kitchen and shook his head.

He expected that question

Really

"I'm not getting any younger Sasuke."

Sasuke shoved past his brother to face him and stabbed a finger into Itachi's chest as he asked his next question. "How are you engaged!" he demanded, effectively blocking the way to the kitchen.

"I don't have time for this." Itachi placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and shoved him to the side.

"She's a gold digger."

Itachi hid a smirk at the thought, Hinata a gold digger? He remembered the way she fought tooth and nail to pay for her half of the bill the first time they dined together. It was cute that she actually thought that he'd let her pay. "I'm sure."

He didn't have to look to see the absolute disappointment on his brothers face.

"She's actually a he." Sasuke said desperately. Anything to make his brother see that married life wasn't for him.

"I know," He replied calmly slicing up his strawberries. "I like that in a woman."

"You can't just marry any woman off the street, don't you have standards?"

"How do you know she's just off the street?

"Because you haven't told me about her, you're ashamed right?"

"I just told you I was interested in someone."

"No you didn't! I had to figure that out myself." Sasuke cried in disbelief. "Besides telling me you like someone is completely different from telling me that you're going to marry the whore."

Sasuke flinched at the unnerving stare his brother set on him. The same emotionless stare that made him feel so unbearably guilty and ashamed, even when they were kids.

It wasn't fair that he could do that.

Itachi should be the one feeling guilty, not him.

"I have to go to work now. I expect an apology when we meet for dinner today." Itachi said in a way that made him feel the entire four years that gapped them.

It really wasn't freaking fair

* * *

Itachi paused at the sight of his fiancée. She was sitting in one of the plush chairs lined up against the wall, right outside his office.

He hadn't been expecting her. If their past encounters were anything to go by, he thought another month would go by before he saw her again. He hated being unprepared, not that that should matter with her. It seemed that whatever he planned with her had this uncanny ability of going awry.

All those planned one-liners? Shot before they had a chance.

He sighed. He could always just turn around and go back the way he came.

He still had that option, she hadn't seen him yet.

"Itachi-kun!" His breath caught at the way her eyes lit up in recognition. She stood to greet him, her posture was impeccable, her outfit immaculate.

She was beautiful

"Ah, Hinata-chan. Did we make plans to meet today?" Itachi waved off his receptionists questioning looks and motioned for Hinata to follow him into his office.

"Before you say anything," Hinata practically screamed once the door shut. She winced at the decibel before lowering her voice. "Before you say anything," she repeated, finding the floor mighty interesting. "I know I've been doing a horrible job…courting you."

Itachi almost nodded.

_Almost_

"But that's why I'm here!" She said sounding more determined. She looked up to meet his gaze. "Nanako-san said she wasn't allowed to disclose your schedule. I tried calling your cell phone, but I guess you were in a meeting because I couldn't reach you. So I thought I might surprise you…" Hinata continued to ramble, a pink flush very noticeable on her pale complexion.

At the silence, the Hyuug heiress stopped to think for a moment before her pretty mouth dropped in mortification.

"Oh no! Are you busy today? Should I not have come?" She clasped her hands in front of her, so tightly they were turning white.

"I have a meeting in fifteen minutes." Itachi said quietly. While mentally cursing his bad fortune, why was it the one time she made a move, he had a whole day full of meetings.

An awkward silence settled between them, one where Hinata watched the floor and he watched Hinata.

"I should leave." She said once she decided that she couldn't take the silence anymore. She gave a low bow and went for the door.

Itachi held the door shut, "No! Please don't." he panicked. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, not caring that the gel would flake.

"But you have a meeting. I'll come back another time." Seeing that his fiancée was just as stubborn as he was, he went for a different tactic.

"What's that in your hand?"

"Its lunch," Hinata replied glancing at the bag of bentos in her hand.

"Let's eat." He took the boxes from her and started to his oversized desk. He pulled up a stool from the corner of the room and offered her his nice, plush chair. "Please, have a seat."

"How have you been?" He asked as the brunette beauty began unpacking.

"Busy, but I wanted to see you." She answered avoiding his eyes. An unmistakable blush started up her cheeks and not for the first time Itachi became hopeful. "I like how you did your hair."

Itachi ignored the blush that was starting up on _his_ cheeks. "Thank you."

He watched the food that she laid out in front of him. She had prepared an assortment of sandwiches and rice balls.

It all looked so…

Pretty

"Itadakimasu," He said quietly. He picked up his chopsticks and contemplated whether to go for the rice balls or a tuna sandwich first. Despite the simplicity in the preparations, there were so many options! And they all looked so appetizing.

There were chicken salad sandwiches, egg salad, tuna, turkey, ham and bologna. It even looked like she put together a tomato and mozarella sandwich.

"What's in the rice balls?"

"Bean paste?"

"Is that a question?" Itachi asked, he grabbed one and used it to hide his smile. It was so much fun picking on her.

"No, I-uh. It's not a question." Hinata flustered.

"You sure?" He teased.

"I brought us some tea." She jumped to get her bag eagerly. Apparently sitting through a conversation with him was too painful. "I read online that you liked oolong." The pale eyed woman said softly rummaging through her bag. "I think it's still warm…"

Itachi paused.

Did she just say that she read _online_ that he liked oolong tea?

"Did I just say that out loud?"

The amused man nodded.

"I ah…I didn't say that." Hinata almost whimpered. She looked as though she wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

He almost groaned at the oppressing, awkward that settled between them. Why was this happening? What happened to the banter-like conversation they had before and what could he do to get that back?

Why was it that everything he said came out the wrong way? He's a flipping genius, it shouldn't be this hard.

"What else did you read about me?" He asked, grabbing at anything his ingenious mind could come up with. It probably wasn't the best idea, but God! Anything to get rid of this _silence_, he practically spat that last word in his mind.

It was ironic how silence used to be a revered and cherished commodity and now it was the equivalent of some foul curse-word with the highest degree of distaste in his mind.

"I'm sorry, w-what?" Hinata stammered in such an adorable way, Itachi could almost picture her as a shy child. She probably looked exactly like she did now, only smaller.

She avoided looking at him by busying herself with pouring tea.

"What else did you read about me?"

Without warning, Hinata promptly dumped the contents of the thermos on his lap.

Turns out the tea was not warm

It was _scalding_.

"Oh! I am so sorry." The woman practically cried. She hurriedly grabbed some napkins from her bag and started to soak up the tea.

"It's okay."

"I have more napkins!" She almost shouted when the napkins in her hand were soaked through. She rummaged through her bag for more before continuing her task of cleaning up the mess she made.

She dabbed at his lap and Itachi didn't bother to hide his blush. Really, if anyone were to walk in at this exact moment…

Exactly how was he supposed to explain himself?

Itachi nervously placed his hands back on the armrests of his chair, unsure of where to put them with Hinata bent over his lap. He couldn't very well put them on her, could he?

"I'm sorry," Hinata looked so sad that he was willing to do just about anything to make her feel better. She played with the napkin in her hand in this pitiful, kicked puppy kind of way that made his heart hurt. "And you have your meeting coming up too. I'm such a klutz sometimes."

"I'll be okay." He tugged lightly on a strand of her hair, and smiled at the dark blush that graced her cheeks. "I'm their boss and we're not unionized, technically I could fire them all if they piss me off."

A small smile spread on her lips, but it was so obviously forced that Itachi decided not to comment on it. If there was one thing he learned, it was that women were unpredictable creatures and anything, no matter how good the intention, was likely to set them off.

He thought she was going to say something when she parted her lips. But she only let out a sigh and then gave her a head a frustrated shake before going back to dabbing his pants with a renewed vigor. He felt his hopes of a comfortable silence fall with the shake of her head.

If Itachi had to sit through another _silence_ he was going to shoot himself.

"So, what exactly did you look up?" He said slowly, making sure to look at anything but her.

"I'm sorry?" She paused in her drying to place a strand of hair behind her ear. Her lavender eyes were set on everything but his face.

"Online. I'd like to think that I'm a more reliable source than the websites." Itachi offered. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. His boxer briefs stuck to him like second skin and Hinata's frantic dabbing was encroaching on very _private_ territory.

He debated whether or not he should let her know. After all, it was very possible that things could get even messier if things progressed in the direction it was going. But then again, his fiancée was a very self-conscious person.

How exactly would he go about telling her just how close she is to fondling his goods?

Nanako chose that moment to open the door and stick her head in. "Itachi-sama, its time for your eleven o'clock."

"I can explain," Itachi said in a calm voice that belied the panic he was feeling.

Time seemed to stand still as she caught sight of exactly what needed to be "explained"

She raised an eyebrow at the sight of a young woman bent over her employers lap and wondered if this was at all appropriate.

Especially during office hours

Then, not for the first time that day, an awkward silence settled.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"_So what did you do?"_ Sabaku Temari asked. Her voice was completely saturated with mirth. Hinata had just finished recounting the week's events (the interesting parts anyway) and it had made Temari's day just like it always did.

Hinata had such an exciting life

"What do you think I did?" Hinata replied letting her face fall into an open palm.

She thought back to that completely humiliating morning she spent in Itachi's office.

_She looked up in surprise as Itachi grabbed her wrist and stopped what she was doing. _

"_But Itachi-kun, it's still wet." _

"_Itachi-sama, it's time for your eleven o'clock." The reception stuck her head in and said the same time that Itachi said. "I can explain." _

_She winced slightly as Itachi tightened his grip. "Don't move your hand." He said between clenched teeth when she rolled her wrist to try and get out of his grasp. _

_Confused, she did as she was told and sat perfectly still.  
_

"_Nanako, I'll be right out." Itachi said. He waited until the woman had closed the door behind him to say what he said next. "We would have had a bigger mess on our hands." _

_Hinata couldn't believe her eyes when a cheeky smile spread across his normally stoic face, it was such a rare treat. It shouldn't have, but it made her breath catch. Itachi seemed like he was afraid to smile. A small one here and there, but a full blown smile just like the one he was wearing was so infrequent that before this moment she wondered if it was at all possible for him._

_His dark eyes glittered, not from the lights overhead. It seemed to come from some internal source. Hinata once again found herself admiring his long lashes. They were so thick and they curled up naturally from the constant contact with his high cheekbones._

_ It wasn't a surprise that he was so popular among the fairer sex. He had the perfect facial structure, and a complexion that rivaled her own.  
_

_He was so..._

_"Beautiful."_

_"No man likes being called beautiful" Itachi said softly.  
_

_She unconsciously moved her hand to hit herself. Had she really said that out loud?  
_

_"I don't think you should do that again." The beautiful man said, his long fingers were more tightly wrapped around hers. . _

_Curious, she let her gaze trace the length of her forearm, then wrist. Her small hand was nearly enveloped by his bigger one, but that wasn't what bothered her. If anything it gave her a measure of comfort. No, what bothered her was the slight bulge at the apex of his limbs. The horror she felt must have been obvious because a small amused smirk made its way across his lips. _

"_You can keep going if you want." He said quietly, carefully watching her face for a reaction. He released his firm grip on her wrist and sat back to see what she would do next. _

_She fought every urge to snap _her_ violated arm back. It wouldn't do to see how much what just conspired affected her. Instead she gave him a couple more dabs and then withdrew the appendage. "I'm okay, I uh think we've done enough today."_

_Geez Hinata, you make it sound like you just slept with the guy, the blushing brunette thought. She mentally kicked herself as she tried to figure out what to do next. She took her time throwing out the wet napkins, careful not to meet his gaze. _

_He was still watching her_

_She could feel it_

_What does he think when he's watching me like this? She wondered. Did he see her the same way everyone else saw her? _

_Was she a disappointment to him too?  
_

_She absolutely refused to let herself go continue on that train of thought. Now wasn't the time to wallow in low self-esteem and self-pity. Instead she focused on the task at hand. When she was done cleaning up she grabbed her purse and stood to leave. _

"_I have to go." Hinata said, her cheeks still a magnificent shade of red. "Enjoy your lunch." _

"_But we didn't finish." Itachi stood as she did and she felt horrible at the look of distress on his face. _

_She felt herself getting a tad light-headed as she took in the more perverted meaning behind what he said. _

_God, when did she become such a pervert? _

_She didn't bother replying to his completely innocent observation. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the face without giving away what her thoughts were. So she gave a low bow and was out of the room.  
_

_ She didn't stop running until she reached the elevator doors. _

.

"I ran, what else could I have done?"

"_You could have said "Mind closing the door? We're in the middle of something."" _Hinata's best friend replied. She could just picture her, sprawled over one of her oversized arm chairs, glass of brandy in one hand, phone in the other.

"Temari-chan! I could never do that!"

"_I know, just saying. You could have." _She drawled. Hinata could hear the smile in her voice. _"It would have made this conversation a tad more interesting."_

"I don't know whether or not to take that as an insult." The brunette muttered. She picked up a picture frame of her and her best friend and fingered the head of blonde hair beside hers. The picture was taken last December. She had wanted to escape from Konoha's harsh winter and decided that the desert would be the best place. There was a mischievous glint that shone through in Temari's rather large teal eyes. The blonde had her lips puckered up against Hinata's cheek, her blue eyes trained on the camera out of the corner of her eyes. Blond hair tied back with a simple band. No elaborate jewelry, no body guards around every corner.

No one would have guess that she was a princess. For a brief moment, Hinata wondered if marrying Gaara, the king of Suna and Temari's younger brother, would have worked out.

_Definitely not, she didn't want to be a princess  
_

"You're not being very nice to me Temari-_hime_." Hinata pouted.

"_It's because I miss you so much."_

Hinata let herself smile, that was why she loved Temari. Underneath her fierce amazon-ish exterior, she was really just a big softy.

"I miss you to. I'll come visit you as soon as I can."

"_You better."_ The blonde replied.

Hinata thought about her hectic schedule. Somewhere in between now and the next two and a half months she had to whisk her fiancé off somewhere to marry him.

Suna would be a good a place as any

"_Hey Hinata?" _Temari called through the phone, interrupting her train of thought.

"Hm?"

"_So…how big was he?"_

_.  
_

* * *

_.  
_

"What do you mean you invited Itachi and his _fiancée _over for dinner?" Sasuke demanded, his fists clenched childishly at his side. He had yet to meet the woman who would be his sister-in-law and to be quite honest, he had no intention of ever doing so. His wife's unchecked actions obviously put a dent in that plan. "Who said you could do that?"

His wife merely raised an eyebrow, her brown eyes glinting a sinister glean. "Are you trying to tell me that I have to ask for your permission to invite people over to _our _home?"

"Yes!"

Tenten let the cleaver fall into the chicken with a loud thunk before throwing a "Care to rephrase that answer?" over her shoulder.

There was a few beats of silence before Sasuke turned around and let out a frustrated scream. Hands gripping bundles of black hair in aggravation "Why are you so pregnant?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why are you all hormonal and crazy and shit?" The man ran a hand through his hair again and fought the urge to rip it out. "You weren't like this before!"

"Yes because you knew me oh-so-well! What part of the eighteen hours you were with me before this happened gave you the idea that I wasn't some batshit crazy person?" She gestured to herself.

"I don't know. You were hot."

Tenten rolled her eyes, not at all taking that as a compliment. "You didn't have to marry me." She said softly. "I would have been fine on my own."

"Fine? Yeah okay." Sasuke muttered. "I don't call crawling back to Hyuuga, fine. Pathetic is more like it."

Sasuke barely caught a glimpse of the giant knife as it sliced the air beside his head. The only evidence of the precarious deed was a strand of hair, cut clean, resting on his hand. He vaguely registered the cleaver caught somewhere in the wall behind him.

"Next time I'm not going to miss."

"What the hell was that?" He screamed. He dropped his hair onto the floor and inched away from the woman as inconspicuously as possible. "You're fucking psychotic!" He cursed.

"Yeah and you're a fucking douche!" She screamed back. "I should have gone crawling back to him, that way I wouldn't be in the stupid situation!"

Sasuke ignored the pang in his chest as he continued creating space between them. "Yeah well, why don't you go? No one's stopping you."

He saw a flash of movement as his wife reached for another knife. He decided that he didn't want to wait around to see if she would stay true to her threat.

Before the blade even left her hand, he was out the door.

_Crazy bitch_

_.  
_

* * *

_.  
_

"You do realize that this is _all_ your fault?" Sasuke said to Hinata who sat awkwardly in the back seat of Itachi's car.

Hinata leaned her forehead against the window, the coolness of the glass felt good against her skin. What he said wasn't anything new. He'd been saying the same thing over and over again like a broken record for the past four hours and she stopped feeling bad after the first thirty times.

She flinched when whatever Sasuke threw to the back seat bounced off her shoulders. There was no doubt in her mind that she lucked out by proposing to the older Uchiha. She didn't know how she'd deal with being married to the immature brat that was to be her brother-in-law.

A ball of paper hit her in the face and fell into her lap. For a brief moment she contemplated throwing it back at him, but decided against it. While she was raised not to let such antics bother her, she certainly did not want to encourage it. She didn't know how much longer the car ride would be. Even another ten minutes of getting balls of crumpled of paper tossed in her face was too much.

Before she met Sasuke, she believed herself to be a person with an overabundance of patience.

Now she wasn't quite sure.

She hoped that her children would take after Itachi's mild temper.

Hinata froze.

Children

God, at some point they were going to bring children into this whole mess.

She chewed her lip and found herself wondering yet again if she was doing the right thing. Was it really okay to start a family when there was no love?

_Now is not the time to think about this,_ she thought. She shook her head free of any troublesome thought and went back to the issue at hand.

Against her better judgment she opened up the crumbled up paper and held it up to the orange gleam of the street lamps and instantly regretted humoring him.

_Your fucking fault_, was scrawled across the lined paper.

She let out a soft groan and wondered how her day had gone so wrong.

.

.

It started off when Itachi called and asked if it would be okay to go to dinner at his brother's house instead of going to the museum like they had planned.

That should have been the first clue.

But if there was anything Hinata's mother taught her before passing away, it was to be polite.

So she agreed. Five o'clock at his place. She'd be there

At four forty-five she rang the doorbell of Itachi's house and waited patiently for thirteen minutes at the door step.

She heard yelling and slamming and tried not to flinch.

All that ruckus should have been the second clue, she should have just turned around and left while she had the chance.

The door swung open and an angry face glared at hers before shutting the door in her face. Hinata wasn't quite sure what to do at that point.

Was she supposed to leave now?

Just as she was about to step off the front step, the door opened again. Only just enough so that the angry man could reach out and grab the ribboned bottle of scotch in her hands.

Then he shut the door again

She could swear she heard him bolt it too

.

* * *

.

"Are you going to let me out of the bathroom?" Itachi asked calmly through the door. "We're going to be late. We wouldn't want to stress Tenten-san out more than she needs to be."

"Then you should have said no to the dinner, or better yet not tell your fiancée about it." Sasuke inched away from the door, expecting his brother to break free at any moment now. The key was still stuck in the keyhole but that would do nothing to deter his brother. "We would have more fun without her."

"Sasuke you're being childish." Itachi said. With a few jiggles of the door knob, the door swung open. "Was that Hinata at the door?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Itachi walked to the door as quickly as he could without revealing to his brother that he was _fighting_ not to hurt him. His patience was beginning to wear rather thin and he didn't know how much longer he could hold himself back from clocking his brother in the face. He guessed that the next time he did something so inanely immature would be _it_.

He said a quick prayer to some god, even though he didn't believe in one, before opening the door. He hoped that she hadn't just left with the reception she received. It would put a rather heavy damper on his day.

"Hinata," he breathed in relief when he found her standing awkwardly on his doorstep. She looked up at him with those big doe eyes and he swore his heart skipped a beat. She looked so distraught and her shaky smile did nothing to reassure him.

"Sorry about that." He mumbled. He moved aside to let her in, all the while wracking his brain from something to say.

_Anything_ to make this all better.

For all his intelligence, he couldn't come up with a single thing.

So he didn't bother

He gestured to the living room. "Have a seat, we'll be leaving in a little bit."

"At least the broad knows how to pick a good bottle of scotch." Sasuke called from the kitchen. He emerged taking a swig straight from the bottle.

"Sasuke you're being rude."

"Did you know that this is all you're fucking fault?" the younger man demanded flopping onto the couch. He didn't even bother looking her way as he accused her.

Itachi stood absolutely still for a moment, jaw clenched, fists tight and knuckles white at his side. Even though he was angry, there were no ripples on the surface to indicate such turmoil. He looked as he always did.

That made what he did next just a tad scary and a whole lot unexpected.

In a blur of movement he grabbed Sasuke by the ear and dragged him out of the room.

Hinata left all alone, briefly entertained the thought of leaving.

But that would be rude, and Hyuuga's were never rude.

.

* * *

.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Let me go you, jackass!" Sasuke yelped as his brother yanked his ear. He let out a pained cry when Itachi roughly released the appendage. Sasuke rubbed his now swollen ear as he mustered up his most hateful glare and set it on his brother. "What the hell is wrong with you! You didn't even give me a chance to grab the scotch."

"Would it kill you to be nice to her Sasuke?"

Sasuke's mouth opened as though he wanted to say something and then thought better of it. Perhaps it would be wise to keep his thoughts to himself this time around. "I am being nice to her."

"Sasuke." Itachi said in _that_ tone.

Sasuke hated how some chick got between them. That Hyuuga bitch had just come out of no where and now she was going to marry his brother.

Once they got married, Sasuke wouldn't be allowed to come over anytime he wanted. Itachi would probably take away his set of keys.

He wouldn't need Sasuke anymore

The worst part was, Itachi was okay with it.

He clenched his fist in frustration, and struggled not to act out. Why couldn't his brother see that, marrying that woman would be the end of their relationship as they knew it?

The Hyuuga's were going to take his brother away.

Just like they were going to take his wife away

"Why her!" Sasuke growled. His arms crossed across his chest as he took on the stance of a pouting child.

Itachi was love struck and blind and it was so obvious.

Their relationship didn't make any sense.

When had they gotten the chance to get to know each other anyway?

"Why not her?" Itachi watched him for a silent moment. His intelligent gaze caught something amiss, but that was okay. He was going to get his brother to say whatever it was on his mind.

"No, you're not hearing me." Sasuke let out a frustrated cry and fought the urge to bang his head against the wall. "Why a fucking Hyuuga? What is it with you people and Hyuugas'?" He slammed his hands onto the marble counter of the breakfast bar.

What was it with the Hyuugas'? Why couldn't they just leave him alone? First Tenten and now his brother too. This was just getting to be too much. The younger Uchiha always had trouble containing his anger and now was no different as he turned around and punched a hole into Itachi's wall. "You can't marry her. I'm not letting you. I'll knock her up too if I have to." Sasuke snarled.

Itachi watched the unshed tears in his brother's eyes and wondered if he was doing the right thing after all.

Was he being selfish?

Yeah, he was.

"I'll talk to her after dinner." Itachi said softly. He didn't meet his brother's gaze, instead he turned around and went back into the living room.

His usually proud posture just a little slumped.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

He stood there and took in the rustling of the leaves above him. The setting sun and the blowing wind cast her off in such a way that it gave that forlorn aura she exuded a synergistic effect.

Or maybe it was just him

"I'm sorry. Can you repeat that?" Hinata asked. She looked like she might be sick. A slim finger reached up and placed a strand behind her ear, a small gesture to keep her composure. He couldn't help but see the parallels with _that_ fateful encounter.

Itachi paused, not quite sure whether to continue. "I didn't realize you were hard of hearing, Hyuuga-san." He said quietly. He saw the look of recognition cross her features as she recognized her own words being used against her and briefly wondered what she was thinking. She was usually so easy to read, but right at that moment he found himself before the same person who demanded his hand in marriage. He continued to watch her, waiting for a flicker of emotion.

Nothing

"I don't think this is going to work out." He tried again. All the while hating himself for saying those words, especially when he didn't mean them. "The contract said that I was free to back out of it, so I am." That seemed to drive his point home because the woman he was in love with clenched her small hands into tight fists as her lower lip trembled. The troublesome wind blew her hair out of their loose restraints, she looked disheveled and lost.

He looked away, pretending to find the setting sun more interesting that it really was. The park was empty, and the lamps were beginning to flicker on. The leaves were crinkling and the wind began to howl softly as though it were voicing his heartache, the very heartache that he would never admit to.

Itachi fought back the urge to sigh and fixed his gaze onto his fiancée, no wait. Make that ex-fiancee. He watched as Hinata fought to compose herself. She was easy to read now, and it was written all over her that she was hurting.

She watched him silently and he wondered if his gazes were that unnerving too. She twisted the diamond ring around her finger, hesitant to give it back to him, because if she gave it back to him then it really was all over. For a moment, he thought that she might argue with him, and it gave him hope.

It was a false hope

Because if there was one word to describe Hyuuga Hinata; it would be "_non-confrontational"_. There was no way that she'd argue with him, no way that she'd fight to inconvenience someone else.

Especially not about this

"I guess I should give this back to you." She said. He felt his heart plummet, despite knowing that she wouldn't argue with him. It would have been a great time to prove just how unpredictable she was.

But she didn't and he hated it.

Her beautiful eyes refused to meet his, and he desperately wanted her to look at him one last time. She clenched her hands into tight little fists before reaching to her ring finger. He didn't know what to do to stop her. He wanted to scream and shout, throw a tantrum.

Anything

Anything to make her stop

That ring belonged on _her_ finger it was never going to go to another woman.

"Keep it."

"I can't."

"Please," he implored. He took a step back, and put his hands in his pocket. He wanted to kick himself for showing such weakness but there was no other way. That ring belonged with her.

He wasn't going to take it back.

.

* * *

.

Hinata fought back her tears.

How had things gone so terribly wrong? Hanabi was turning twenty-one in two and a half months. Then she would have to comply with the contract and marry Itachi herself. Then she couldn't be with Naruto.

The roaring fire in the Sabaku estate did nothing to provide its usual comfort. The Hyuuga's petite form was dwarfed by the oversized furniture. She was lost in a mass of cushions and pillows on the Sand Princess's leather couch. The wind howled and sand tinkered against the glass over the sound of the cackling fire, filling the silent room with a symphony of sound.

Temari, ever the patient one, watched her friend, waiting for her to make the first move.

"Temari, what do I do?" Hinata cried. She sank into the Sand Princess's couch and drew her knees up to her chest, he very picture of dejected.

Temari took a sip of her wine and nodded to herself. Ah, there it was. The cry for help.

"I'm sorry, I just don't understand why you put in a clause that said that he could back out of it at anytime." she said rather bluntly, if Hinata had come to her looking for pity she had come to the wrong person. "I thought you were serious about this. What's wrong with you!"

"Of course I'm serious about this! Hanabi doesn't want this Mari-chan." Hinata slammed a fist into one of the cushions. "She doesn't want Hyuuga International and if I don't _take_ it from her, my father is going to sell it off. He'd rather disband it than pass it on to someone who's not a member of the main family."

Temari took in what her friend said and ran it over in her head. "But there's two of you. When-"

"My father was going to announce it a month before Hanabi's twenty-first birthday. I'm not fit to lead my family, much less a multi-billion dollar empire." The brunette said softly. She sighed. "The heir is contracted to marry Uchiha Itachi. It was originally Uchiha Sasuke, but once he found out about the contract, he went and knocked up the first woman he could find and then married her. I don't even know if it was in that order."

"I'm not surprised." Temari muttered. She took a sip of wine as she leaned back and studied her friend. Something else was missing. "Who did he knock up?"

"Tenten-san."

"Isn't that your cousin's-"

"Yes, she _was_," Hinata muttered. "To make up for the breach, they revoked the majority shares and gave them to Itachi-san, even though he has his own company to run, then promised the older Uchiha brother to the Hyuuga heir."

"And that's Hanabi," Temari put down her glass and pulled her best friend into a hug. "Does he know all this?"

"I don't know, it's hard to tell with Itachi-san. He keeps his cards close to his chest." Hinata laid her head on Temari's shoulder and sniffled. "What do I do? Hanabi could elope, but then she'd be disowned. They'll brand her!"

Hinata unconsciously pulled on her collar. But Temari didn't miss the angry red ying-yang scar at the side of her neck. The line going through it meant that she was no longer in line for the "throne".

Temari sighed. "Then do something about it."

"What can I do? Itachi already 'broke-up' with me." Hinata moaned. She really just wanted to wallow in self-pity for a bit.

There was nothing she could do for Hanabi now, how was she going to tell her that?

"Maybe he thought you weren't serious."

Hinata stopped and looked at her friend.

How dare she!

How could she say that! She had tried. She did. She packed him lunch and gave him hand-made presents. She did whatever Itachi had asked. She…

Hinata froze and thought really hard for a moment, she wracked her brain for all the things she did to make him fall in love with her, anything to show that she was serious

She came up with nothing

She's done absolutely nothing! She'd get uncomfortable after each "date" and then use that discomfort to avoid him for weeks at a time.

Then he'd somehow force her to come out and she was always so reluctant to comply! He was the one who was supposed to be getting wooed and yet he was the one that did everything she was supposed to do. He sent her flowers and presents and he even went out of his way to bring her soup.

Soup!

The shy brunette let her head fall back against the cushion of the couch.

There was _one_ condition and she hadn't even bothered to try and fulfill it.

God, he had to give her another chance. He just had to. She just had to make this right.

"There we go. There's the Hinata that we need now." Temari chirped clearly happy that the dissection was over. It was midnight and Temari had stayed up with her to autopsy whatever she and Itachi had had, after what would have no doubt be a long day of playing politics. But she was a good friend like that, despite the tiredness in her eyes, they gleamed in delight as she stood. Finally, that was over.

She picked up Hinata's purse and grabbed her friend by the arm in one quick movement, and before Hinata had a chance to protest, was dragging her to the door.

"Temari-chan, where are you taking me?" Temari pushed Hinata out the door and promptly closed it behind her. "Temari! What are you doing. Let me back in!"

The Princess opened the door a crack and tossed Hinata her purse before closing the door again.

"Go, don't come back until you've got him back."

"But-"

"Go."

.

* * *

.

Itachi rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Was someone banging on his front door? What time was it? He glanced at the glow in the dark digits glaring at him.

_3:46 am_

"This better be good." He muttered as he got out of bed. He padded barefoot down the hallway, absent-mindedly scratching his stomach. He covered his mouth and yawned, snapping his mouth shut when his thigh hit the corner of some table in the middle of the hall way.

_God that hurt_, he rubbed his leg and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark before continuing down the hall. _Maybe I should have turned the lights on?_

"Itachi-kun!" he heard a familiar voice call. "Itachi-kun!"

_No, it couldn't be, could it?_ Itachi forgot about the pain and his issue with the darkness and rushed to the door. But he stopped himself before opening it and took a moment to compose himself. It wouldn't do to look eager to see her after he had just dumped her. If "dumped" was the right word.

"Itachi-kun! Please open the door I have something I need to talk to you about!"

Itachi peeked through the peep hole and saw the object of his affections looking disheveled but determined under the street lamps at his front door.

He opened the door just as she was about to knock and her fist came down on his chest just a little harder than he'd prefer.

"Itachi-kun!" He took in the mass of hair in front of him as she gave a low bow. "I'm sorry about that." He could only imagine the expression on her face at that very moment. Her pale eyes would be wide and her small mouth would be meshed into a thin line. Her cheeks red. Seeing her in his mind's eye, he decided that she looked utterly adorable that way.

"It's no problem Hyuuga-san, please come in." He stepped aside to let her in and closed the door behind her, rubbing his chest a little when she wasn't looking.

It hurt

"So what can I do for you?"

"Let's get married."

Itachi felt a sense of de ja vu come over him. He used the time it took to take her jacket to think up an answer. "Didn't we try this already?"

Hinata looked up at him, her fingers fiddling with a button on her blouse. "No, we tried being engaged, that failed. We never got married though, so we should try that."

The man froze. His mind struggled to come up with an explanation for this, this whole mess. So he handed back her jacket and began ushering her out the door.

"Itachi-kun!" she let out a startled gasp when a firm hand started to "guide" her by the small of her back. She quickly turned to face him. In their earlier encounters she learned that he had a hard time refusing her when they were face to face and she was planning on using that to her advantage. "Can we talk about this?" she fought back a giggle when the sudden change in position made Itachi awkwardly put his hands up in the air, clearly unsure of whether or not he should continue guiding her to the door.

It wouldn't be appropriate to touch her stomach would it? After all they weren't anything anymore. Just two people who barely knew each other.

Itachi paused in his stride as he pondered where on her person would be a safe place to touch her. The couple stood face to face for a long moment before he let his palm rest on the top of her head and turned her around so that she was facing the door again. It was easier to deal with the back of her head than her face.

Much easier

He began walking, hand still on her head, guiding her. The tired man opened the door and gave Hinata a gentle push out of his home. "Come back in ten hours." And then shut the door behind him.

But he didn't lock it. He just closed it and rested his forehead against the cool wood. He listened as the very woman who haunted his dreams knocked gently on his door begging to be let in.

And there, in the privacy of his home, he didn't bother fighting the giddy smile.

Itachi-1 Hinata-0


	9. Chapter 9

-If you were not signed in at the time that you reviewed for the past few chapters please check my profile (I read somewhere that we're not allowed to respond to reviews or something…

Anyway that's where my thank you love letters will be. (if you are **variestimeni **please read too. Your PMs are disabled.

-Please read AN at the bottom

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**Chapter Nine**

At exactly one forty six pm Hinata knocked on Itachi's front door and then took a moment admire the architecture. An opportunity that she hadn't had before, neither the setting sun nor the flickering of street lamps didn't cast the house off in very flattering light. Her lavender eyes scanned the beautiful arched windows and searched them for any signs of life.

Was he home?

She stepped back up to the front door and knocked just a little harder this time.

_He did say ten hours right?_

Hinata glanced at her watch and shifted the bouquet of daisies in her arms. It was exactly ten hours from when she paid the man her late night visit, give or take a few seconds. Was it possible to be too punctual? She knocked on the door again and stood back. She watched the great oak, as if all the will power she possessed would make Itachi come and open it. It was silly but what else did she have to do? She had cleared the rest of the week to spend it convincing Itachi to marry her if she needed to.

So the five foot four woman stood before the towering door and leveled her most menacing glare at it, bidding it to do her will.

"Hinata-chan?" The unmistakable baritone of her fiance's voice called out for her.

Having him spontaneously appear out of thin air worked too.

The Hyuuga's cheeks flushed at the thought of being caught in a glaring contest with a door, but she quickly remembered where she was and held out the flowers in her arms. After all, a first date wasn't a good first date without flowers.

"Itachi-kun," She greeted him with a low bow, she kept her arms outstretched in front of her as she struggled to keep them up under the weight of the rather large bouquet. "These are for you." She refused to look up at him as he accepted her proffered gift. The blush on her face would have intensified and then proceeded to burn her to death.

She was sure of it

"Daisies."

"Daisies. The card you sent me said that you liked them." The blushing brunette straightened her back and snuck a peak at the man, taking a closer look at his attire. His long sleeved shirt was a loose fit but the fabric clung to his biceps in such a way that it hinted at what lay beneath them. His sweat shorts cut off at the knees, displaying masculine legs with well shaped calves. His breath came out in smoked puffs in the cold January air, the afternoon sun doing nothing to warm the air.

Itachi sort of stared at them for a moment before saying a soft "Thank you." He held the bouquet like a football and opened his front door to get himself and his companion out of the frigid winter air.

"Exercising? She asked as she timidly followed him into his home. Wide eyes soaked in the sparsely decorated hallway. Her hip narrowly missed the table in the middle of the hallway and her hands splayed themselves across the table top instinctively trying to catch her balance. The vase shook violently from the sudden force of her weight before careening over the edge of the table and falling to the floor.

It all happened so fast. Before she could even think to react, Itachi was already on the move. He was nothing but a blur, the next thing her mind registered was Itachi calmly setting the vase back in its place. Not a strand of hair on his head out of place.

"It happens all the time," Itachi said calmly before she could apologize. "I took the day off of work when I remembered that you would be coming by." Without missing a beat he took Hinata's jacket and neatly hung it onto a hanger with effortless grace before placing it in the hall closet. He picked up his water bottle in a fluid movement and then made his way into the kitchen, Hinata followed three paces behind.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a bother." The petite woman said softly, more to herself than to him. Making a dedicated man such as himself take time off from work surely wasn't the right way to start this sideways courtship.

_Maybe she should have gotten him something to put the flowers in_, she thought as she watched him take out a big cup and fill it with water for the flowers. She hid a smile as he carefully arranged them and set them aside at the breakfast bar.

"It's not a problem. I've been told I spend too much time at work." He pulled out a seat for her right next to the flowers, before floating around the kitchen to prepare tea. "Have you had lunch yet?"

"I was hoping that you and I could…" Hinata hated the uncertainty in her voice. She had to be strong, she had to show him that she was serious about this, sounding the way she was was not going to help her case. "There's a pizza place around the block, would you like to go there?" Her pale eyes watched Itachi's form as he poured the hot water, and waited for a response. Nothing in his body language indicated what he was thinking. He didn't pause once in his movements. He continued on like Hinata, the woman who couldn't face him two days in a row wasn't asking him out on a date ten hours after she had seen him earlier that morning.

"That would be nice." No inflections in his voice, nothing. If anything his voice was more monotonous. "I'm going to take a quick shower and we'll be on our way."

Itachi placed the steaming mug down in front of her, "Would you like a snack?"

Hinata shook her head, she sat there in awe of his poise. Not a single drop had spilled over the rim of the cup. It had taken her years of practice to achieve that much balance, granted she was a clumsy child, but he made it seem just so effortless.

It wasn't fair.

"I'll be just a few minutes." He said, "Please make yourself at home." He gave a quick nod and then he was gone.

Hinata took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.

There was just something about that man, he had such a big presence. It was hard to explain, he wasn't a very talkative man and he didn't do anything to deliberately make the people around him feel uncomfortable.

But he was just so perfect

Yeah, that was it. He was perfection personified.

He was everything you would want in a man, really she was lucky that things turned out the way they did. He had impeccable manners, polite to a fault and he was intelligent with chivalry that she was convinced was extinct in this day and age.

Hinata grabbed her mug and decided to wait in the living room. She looked around the room, observant eyes took in the sparse furnishings. Like the last time she was there, there was barely anything of decorative value. The couch was big and comfortable, it matched the love seat adjacent to it. No doubt expensive. The stylish overhead lights hung from the ceiling by the walls at an angle, so that the light would ricochet off the white wall. They were actually quite pretty. The coffee table, much like everything else in the room was a stylish black, it was made of heavy marble with elaborate pictures inscribed with silver and gold ink. His wide flat screen TV was directly across from where she was sitting, but it looked dusty. Those were the only items in the room. She wondered how much time he didn't spend in the room to accumulate the fine layer of dust on some of the furniture.

He had spent a pretty penny and it spoke volumes about his person. He wasn't an ostentatious individual, though he had no problem spending money to buy quality items. He just liked to keep things simple, much like herself.

They were compatible.

Hinata bit her lip and berated herself. Really that was just stupid, you couldn't judge whether or not you were compatible with someone just by their living room.

That was her hopeful side breaking out.

She put her mug down and ran her hand along the black leather she was sitting on. It was so soft and she felt herself sinking into the seat, every muscle in her body relaxing.

In all its barrenness the room had an odd comforting feel to it.

"Sorry, that took so long." Itachi reappeared before her, dressed in a pair of dark loose fitting jeans and a black t-shirt that stretched taut across his chest and at his biceps. She looked at him with renewed interest, she had never seen him in casual wear before. Every chance they met it was either after work or during. It was a pity, he was such a sight in jeans.

Hinata bowed her head and let her bangs shadow her face so that he wouldn't be able to see the blush on her face. Itachi looked very nice in tailored suits, but she had to admit him in a pair of jeans and a nice fitting shirt made him look just as sinful, if not more.

"It didn't take long at all." The blushing woman said as she kept her head low.

Itachi grabbed the mug from the coffee table and disappeared into the kitchen for a brief moment.

"Shall we?"

"Yes, we shall." He helped her into her peacoat before donning his own peacoat, a dark grey that made his eyes pop. "Can we walk? It's not too far and the weather is nice." Hinata requested, she pulled her cashmere gloves from her pocket and slid them on, relishing in their soft texture.

The handsome man nodded, he said nothing about the nice weather being near sub-zero degree temperatures. Instead he opened the door and gestured for her to go first.

Always the gentleman.

It was hard not to wonder if Uchiha Itachi marrying her would be a waste of a perfectly good man. He could do better, so why had he agreed to this shenanigan?

The couple walked in companionable silence, each lost in his or her own thoughts. Their breaths came out in puffs of smoke. Hinata snuck peeks at the back of his head as he walked ahead at a leisurely place, but never looked at him for too long. What if he turned around and caught her? Then she'd have to start conversation and she had no idea what to talk about.

"Sasuke loves snow." Itachi broke the silence. "When he was younger he used to sneak out and try to sleep in it."

Somehow she couldn't picture the man who swore to do anything to prevent their holy union, as anything but a devil spawn. But she supposed they had to start somewhere.

"He used to be cute."

She giggled. That could have been the case, after all Sasuke wasn't too bad on the eyes.

Still a devil spawn though

"Not so much anymore, but he has his moments." Itachi stopped at the crosswalk and turned to wait for his fiancée, who followed three steps behind him. "I expect you to fix that." He said when she was a little more than arms width away from him.

Hinata froze as though she'd been slapped. She heard that plenty from her father but somehow when those words came out of his mouth they hurt more. "I-I'm sorry?"

"If we're to be married, you'll be my equal. I won't have you following three steps behind me." He held out his hand, his warm eyes beckoning for her to take it.

Her mind was reeling as she comprehended what he had just said. He saw her as an equal. That was the last thing she had expected him to say. She hesitantly took his hand, his warmth seeped through the fabrics of both their gloves and she was filled with a foreign emotion.

Was this what it felt like to belong to someone?

"If you wanted to hold my hand you could have just said so." The handsome man attached to her hand deadpanned. Breaking into the, for once, comfortable silence that had settled between them.

_Was he teasing her?_ She thought as he tugged gently on her hand letting her know that the light had changed.

How was she supposed to respond to that?

"You were obviously more eager," She said shyly. "I had it planned for later on today." She continued walking as though she had just commented on the weather.

The short brunette let out a small "eep" when she felt snow explode on her jacket. She whipped her head to the side to find Itachi bouncing a small snow ball in his free hand.

How did he manage to make a snowball with just one hand?

"How did you-" The snowball hit the sleeve of her free hand and exploded into powder.

"Magic," He replied with a cheeky grin.

Hinata quickly grabbed a handful of snow and tossed it at him. He let go of her hand to dodge it and scooped up some snow of his own to toss back at her.

"Is this where you planned to take my hand?" the nimble man asked standing a good distance away from her.

Hinata shook her head. "Nope, I believe this is where _you_ planned to take _my_ hand. You did start it." She said feeling unusually bold. "I suspect you did it so that you'd have an excuse to warm my hands."

The Hyuuga stopped in her tracks when Itachi threw his head back and let out a laugh. She never thought she'd witness anything so beautiful.

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* * *

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She had looked like she wanted to dig a hole and climb into it when she first arrived at his house. He patted himself on a job well done on getting her to open up.

He was so nervous. Here they were outside of work. He didn't have any meetings to interrupt, no urgent phone calls. Nope, it was just him and her and that was he had wanted for so long. But it was one of those things that you never thought you'd actually get.

He had nothing to hide behind, but then again.

Neither did she

When he laughed it was in earnest. She was just so full of surprises with wit that kept him on his toes and he loved it.

"Do your hands need warming now?" Itachi asked doing his best to fight down his blush.

"Just one," She replied. He hid a giddy grin as he took her hand. It felt nice being able to do things like this with her.

She was going to be his for the rest of their lives, he could live with that.

"What do you want to do after we get pizza?" He asked as they approached the pizzeria.

"What is there to do that's walking distance?" She nodded her thanks as he opened the door for her and looked around for an open booth.

"More food and a billiards place." Itachi watched as her eyes took in the restaurant. It wasn't anything unusual but the place had such a homey feel that he just knew he'd be frequenting the place. He breathed in the scent of fresh pizza and sighed.

He loved that smell. It was a shame he didn't come here more often.

"I think we order at the counter," the pretty brunette said softly. She flashed him a stunning smile that left him weak in the knees and went ahead. "Have a seat." She called to him over her shoulder.

He would have listened if his mother hadn't beat into him the rules of being a gentleman.

_Rule number three: Never let the woman pay_

"I got it," he said as he walked up behind her. He reached into his breast pocket for his wallet but stopped when she laid her bare hand on his.

It was so soft.

"It's already paid for." She said with a smile.

How had she paid so quickly? It didn't make sense. At that moment he felt less like a man than he ever had in his life and he vowed right then and there that he'd do everything in his power to not feel that way again.

Even if it meant pick-pocketing her so that she wouldn't be able to pay.

"You did say that I was to 'woo' you." Her lavender eyes sparkled in mirth, and he found that he couldn't hold a grudge when she looked like that.

"I think we should change the rules a little since we are no longer working under that contract."

"You're right there is no contract. I just want you to marry me." She took the tray of food and walked past him as he stood there digesting her words.

His heart thumped so hard in his ribcage that he thought it was going to jump out of his chest. It wasn't fair that she could throw those words around without knowing what kind of effect it had on him.

He sat across from her and was pleasantly surprised that she had ordered two sausage slices for him.

His favorite

"How did you-"

"Magic," She responded, her cheeky expression was no doubt just like the one he had on his face when he told her the same thing not too long ago.

He flicked his bangs out of his eyes, but kept his eyes trained on her. "Did you look me up online again?"

A dark flush spread across her cheeks, contrasting with her pale complexion. "I did." She replied avoiding his gaze.

"Are you ever going to tell me what you found?"

His companion stuck a forkful of ziti from her ziti slice into her mouth and pointed at it to indicate that she wouldn't talk with a full mouth. Her ancestors would be spinning in their graves if she had. He took a bite of his own slice, happy that it tasted as good as it looked. He was rather famished, he had run for a little over an hour before he ran into Hinata and his hearty breakfast was long since digested.

Itachi watched as Hinata kept her mouth occupied to keep from answering his question. Her hair wasn't tied back today and it fell over her shoulders in what to him resembled a waterfall.

A black waterfall

He wanted to reach out and touch it. It was only his unrivaled self-control that kept him from doing just that.

He wiped his mouth and took a sip of his soda, delighted that at least the information she found online about him was factual.

"How about we go shoot pool? Every ball I sink you tell me something and every ball you sink you get to ask me a question."

"Pool?"

"Sure why not, it's just a couple of blocks away." Itachi wiped his fingers on his napkin and watched her. "It's either that or more food." Of course he didn't mention that he could just go home and get his car but where would the fun be in that?

She scrunched her nose up a little as she considered it. It made him wonder if she knew what pool was.

"It's a deal," His fiancée beamed.

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* * *

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He wanted to bang his head against the wall. But kept his hands in his pocket and leaned his back against the cold cement slathered onto the wall. He kept his posture rigid to prevent himself from giving into his self-destructive thoughts. He needed all the brain cells he had to make this work, losing even a precious few would not be advantageous. Instead he tried to think up other great conversation starters.

How she got to be so good at pool would be good one. Dark eyes followed the movement on the green table, she was on a roll.

He shouldn't have bothered picking a cue.

Always the gentleman, he let her break.

_Ladies first_, _after all_

But she pocketed a ball on her break followed by three more and it didn't look as though she was stopping.

"Boxers or briefs?"

"Commando," He deadpanned.

"Hm," the brunette said thoughtfully. "I should probably let the website know."

He watched the four ball in all its purple glory roll into the far left pocket.

"What's the most you've ever done with someone?" The Uchiha couldn't help but smile at the innocent blush on her cheeks as she asked the question. Unsurprisingly she avoided his gaze as she waited for an answer.

"With a man or a woman?" he gave a mental cheer when the cue ball bounced off the table and rolled to his feet.

"I-I'm sorry?" Her face turned an even darker red and he couldn't help but wonder if blood was circulating to the rest of her body.

Itachi pretended to think about it before picking up the ball at his feet and made his way to the pool table. "Everything," the handsome whispered into her ear as he passed her.

"Have you been lying to me this whole time?"

"Ah-ah, it's my turn." He grinned as he positioned his cue ball at the break side and made a power shot. He didn't bother checking to make sure that ball went in, it was a done deal. He moved onto the eleven ball and made quick work of it. "Speak."

"You love sweets," She said fascinated. "and you hate the color red."

Itachi nodded. "Continue." He sliced the fifteen ball and pocketed two balls this time, in a combo that had taken him a week to master.

He felt his stomach warm at the sound of her giggle. "You dated a man named Deidara for a bit but your homosexual lover Kisame killed him in a fit of passionate fury."

"Passionate fury?" He stood up straight, absolutely refusing to waste a turn while he was distracted. He turned his gaze onto her and felt like smiling at the sight of her, she was almost keeled over trying to contain her laughter.

"Yes, he was absolutely smitten with you. When you found out about his horrible deed you killed yourself because Deidara was actually the one you loved."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Pervert."

"Pervert?"

"You read yaoi fanfics about me." Itachi mumbled a little disturbed. He cleared the remaining three balls. "Far left." He pointed with his stick at the far left pocket and then lined it up with the eight ball.

"How do you know about them?" He ignored the insinuation that he would read up on stories of himself in homosexual relationships. Sure it was possible, that is if he weren't so unbelievable straight that thought of even coming within personal boundaries with another man made him a little more than fidgety.

A little closer to outright panicking, really.

He watched his fiancée caught up in another fit of giggles as he made the shot. "You owe me four more, no more yaoi stories."

Hinata leaned her cue stick against the wall and began ticking off the facts she read online. "You love oolong tea, and rain. You dislike the summer and you never learned to ice skate." She helped him get the balls out of the pockets.

"Are they all true?"

"Maybe," Itachi shrugged, effectively bringing their casual well oiled conversation to a screeching halt. The two stood face to face awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

"Would you like to get a drink? Hinata asked tentatively. "Non-alcoholic of course!"

_That's a shame, I could really use a beer_. He thought as she vanished from sight.

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**AN: **I know this chapter is late! I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how little time I would have to write it. . But to make up for it I made this chapter as long as I could (until i had writers block). I'll be done with classes in a little bit and I'll have a few days break before I start on my free labor days so I'll try to post my next chapter up soon. (I absolutely refuse to promise you guys anything…I don't want to disappoint)

AN2: You may have noticed there are a few gaps in the chapters, I am in the process of rewriting the first few chapters. I had a friend look it over and he mentioned that there were many parts that needed elaborating so I will be doing that. I'll repost the chapters as soon as I am done editing all of them. So when that happens please take the time to reread it and let me know what you think (pretty please with a mango on top?)


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